Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hogs on Monday reached their highest level in almost a year as packers competed for supplies during the first full week of production after the New Year's holiday, said traders.

Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hogs on Wednesday slid from a one-year top earlier in the session, rattled by fund selling and Canadian government concerns over NAFTA talks with the United States, said traders.

Feeding cost of gain is expected to drop for the remainder of 2016. Small net returns could be on the horizon for cattle finishers. Where are feeder cattle prices headed? Does it pay to retain ownership?

Cargill is temporarily closing its High River, Alberta, beef plant due to an outbreak of COVID-19 at the facility. Meanwhile, the company says it has re-opened its processing facility in Hazleton, Pennsylvania.

Friday’s report is anticipated not only for the information that enables market analysts to estimate slaughter cattle supplies, but also because the January report was unpublished due to the government shutdown.

U.S. live cattle futures bounded to life-of-contract highs for the third straight session on Wednesday, rising on expectations that beef packers will continue paying higher prices in Plains cash markets.